The Phoenix and the Snare
by Rose Evanescent
Summary: Broken and widowed Katniss Mellark sets off from District 12 to her daughter Primrose's birthday party in New Capitol. When the hovercraft she rides in crashes into the forests of District 7, Katniss finds she really does have something to live for when a surprising man saves her. Please R&R!
1. 1: Dear Agony (Breaking Benjamin)

"Cheer up, sweetheart," Haymitch laughed, failing to comfort me and playfully chucking my chin up with his rough index finger. "You haven't been this somber since the Games interview. Remember how you spun in that silly dress? Ha, and you slugged Mellark after? God, Katniss, you were a riot!" He laughed as if he'd told some hilarious joke, but Johanna Mason jerked him away by his blonde hair, causing him to yelp. She glared at him with ferocious eyes.

"Abernathy, you leave her alone," she snapped, angry at him. "You're being an insensitive, unfeeling ass. Just leave Katniss be." Haymitch took one last look and went into the cockpit of the hovercraft to check on our pilot, leaving Johanna to lean against a wall and stare at me silently, her arms crossed over her chest, her short black hair set in softened spikes.

Gripping the railing of the hovercraft, I sat on the edge of the open door, leaning back carefully against the door, my slender braid of brown hair whipping in the wind that tore past; I twisted by wedding ring absentmindedly, an unconscious habit of mine. Much had changed in the years after President Snow was overthrown, many things had occurred. Most changes were good, but, as always, some bad always hung along for the ride.

As for the good things, Peeta and I married, later giving birth to two beautiful children – Primrose, the girl we called Prim, after my sister, and Marzipan, the little boy who we affectionately called Marz. Haymitch, though his usual unmoved self, has been sober for ten years now, and he has cleaned up well, losing his scruffy facial hair and beer paunch – especially with the aid of _his_ new wife, Effie Trinket, who keeps him in check from New Capitol. Annie Odair has been raising her son, Neri, happily, with my mother to check up on her often, as Annie and Neri work with mother in her hospital. Johanna Mason had no home to go to after she returned to her District 7, so she has stayed in our house in District 12, playing with the children and healing her fragmented soul, if slowly. Now, Haymitch, Johanna, Annie, Neri, and I rode on the hovercraft piloted by a veteran airman towards New Capitol to celebrate Prim's seventeenth birthday.

As for bad things, my husband, Peeta, died a mere three weeks ago – I was off in the woods with Johanna when our neighbor ran out, screaming for me. We ran back to town to hear that Peeta had heard a call for help from the coal mines, so he dashed there to free a man from a pile of rubble that had come loose. My husband managed to free the miner and send him out before the mines finally caved in, taking Peeta with them. Finally the mines were finished, but they stole one more person I loved.

When I learned the news, right in the middle of the town square, I was so broken I couldn't weep, just felt my knees give out from under me and found myself against the stone, crying without tears, imploring without words. I knew how my mother felt when she lost father in the mining accident, and I withdrew into myself despite the coaxing of Johanna, braiding my hair again and hating the dark. Primrose and Marzipan moved to New Capitol with Effie, so I was left in an empty next that, fortunately, Haymitch, Effie, and Annie visited regularly. Luckily, Prim was hosting her seventeenth birthday ball in a few days, so we were flying to New Capitol now to celebrate it with her and Marz. Still, some heavy though blurred the corners of my mind, a piece of the puzzle not found.

Gale Hawthorne.

Hunting companion, protector, friend.

He hadn't spoken to me since he left for District 2, even before Peeta and I wed. Gale left a void in my heart not even Peeta's immense love could fill – Gale leaving me was like losing my childhood, my innocence. Now, with neither Gale nor Peeta by my side, everything looked as black and as menacing as the stormclouds building on the horizon...

Stormclouds? I wrenched myself back from the edge of the hovercraft, my stomach tightening in cold knots – I saw Johanna had retreated to the quarters, quiet as a cat. Quickly I ran to the cockpit and burst through the door, my face clammy and pale. Haymitch looked at me suddenly.

"There are storms building ahead," I stuttered, fear freezing my blood. My throat tightened instantly to keep the cries from clawing out.

The pilot looked back and grinned below his bug-eyed helmet. "Relax, Ms. Everdeen – this baby can slice through storms like a knife through butter."

Rage flared behind my eyes. "Captain, I've seen crafts as big as these taken down by a hailstone in the engine. We need to land now and wait for the storm to pass."

"Lady, I promised I'd get you to New Capitol in time for your girl's party. If storms scare you or something, go to your quarters and snuggle with your security blanket."

Peeta was my security blanket once, I thought dumbly before lunging forward in anger to hit the pilot. But Haymitch had stopped my fist and started to escort me back to the quarters, gripping my arm tightly. "Ever heard not to bite the hand that feeds you, sweetheart?" he growled, amused. "Keep that in mind and don't kill our designated driver, okay?"

"You would know plenty about designated drivers, huh?" I retorted sourly, shaking loose of his grip. Haymitch looked wounded at first, but then his face slid back into its usual smirking expression.

"Sounds like you need rest, Katniss," he said, popping open the door to the bunkroom. "Go in there and don't worry about anything, and that's an order. Just sleep." Once I was inside, Haymitch shut the door with a bang. Swallowing my pride, I turned to see Johanna sharpening her axe blade atop her top bunk perch and Annie sitting with her son, Neri, below; the young man curled up next to her, playing with his mother's waves of long brown hair. I watched his fingers working adeptly to create complex weaves and braids in her locks. Neri looked up to see me with his shocking sea-green eyes and withdrew shyly into the shadows. The young man was almost nineteen, but had collected Annie's severe shyness, distrust, and insecurity even though he looked just like his father, Finnick Odair, with bronze hair, muscular build, and identical eyes. Annie saw me staring and smiled kindly, the edges of her mouth crinkling.

"Hello, Katniss," she said, admiring the elaborate ties in her hair. "Neri was just finishing the knots in my hair – aren't they beautiful? He's so talented."

Neri continued to stare at me like cornered prey looking at a predator; the shade of green in his large eyes made me tremble, and my throat dried. Visions of me tossing the grenade at the mutts and decapitated Finnick, with his dead green eyes, tore through my mind, sharp and precise. Those words stuck in my mind, exactly like I had whispered them.

Nightlock.

Nightlock.

_Nightlock. _

An ocean of light washed over Finnick, drowning him forever.

The visions faded, and I swallowed hard, still looking at Neri. "Very talented," I choked out, "just like his father."

Annie saw the pain in my eyes and took Neri in her arms, comforting him to reassure me. "I'm sorry you hurt so," she murmured. "Maybe some lunch will help you." The beautiful unstable woman handed me a basket wrapped in a happy orange bow – the contents smelled delicious. "Neri and I packed it for you before the ride. Why don't you go and eat it on the roof?"

Nodding, I muttered the thanks and climbed up a ladder of steel rungs, fluorescent lights burning my eyes as I pushed open the door in the ceiling leading out onto the top of the hovercraft where wind blasted my face. A harness waited for me, attached to the hovercraft railing to ensure I wouldn't fall, but I ignored it. Care had abandoned me ever since Peeta died.

Closing the door behind me, I sat down on the top of the hovercraft, on the cold expanse of metal, gazing at the cloudy sky around me, so comforting in its grayness, like the gray wool blankets at home in my childhood; the forests of District 7 passed below, and I remembered Johanna's words: "They can't hurt me. I'm not like the rest of you. There's no one left I love." Now everything everyone said or did came back with a certain agonizing clarity. But I just sniffed angrily at myself and opened Annie's basket, even though I really wasn't hungry.

I saw the basket contained some pieces of whitefish covered in a dill-cream sauce and a little bushel of cooked broccoli. Also, an object sat there at the bottom, wrapped in a checkered orange-and-cream cloth, which I picked up gingerly with both hands. Unfolding the covering, I saw the object was a little cookie, frosted like a dolphin. My stomach, if it hadn't been gone before, was definitely gone now.

Ever since Peeta, I couldn't bear to eat anything without thinking of him. I couldn't taste sugar, couldn't buy birthday cakes, couldn't eat the tiny maple candies I had as a child from my mother, couldn't even walk past a bakery, because the warm, homey scent of bread would remind me of him, my sweetheart, my blanket to hold onto at night, one who was as hurt and as broken and I. Honey, sweets, and cookies only held terrible eating-acid memories now. I stared at the dolphin cookie for a minute, thinking of how Annie's blue and white strokes of frosting weren't as perfect as Peeta's, but then I dismissed it, knowing it was the thought that counted. I wrapped the cookie carefully in its cloth and held it in my lap, savoring its familiar texture, its nice smell. I twisted the wedding ring on my finger, feeling it and reminding me of Peeta.

Suddenly, a bolt of white lightning forked down not too far from us and struck a tree, making the fine hair on my arms crinkle. To my terror, the lightning preceded a horrifying loud roar of thunder that shook the entire hovercraft and sent Annie and Neri's basket of fish and vegetables sliding off the flat metal, falling into the forests below, orange ribbon flowing out behind it. I grabbed the railing of the hovercraft just in time, for the machine thrummed violently and tossed my body. It began to rain, so I scrambled across the wet, slippery metal, gripping to the rail, to see the little door. Before I grasped the handle, a fleeting thought stuck in my mind for a moment, a thought that said if I flung myself off the craft right now, I could end the pain of memory right here, right now, and they would just think I was taken by the storm, a retired hero blown away like a leaf on the wind. But as I clutched the cookie to my body and instinctively shifted my grip on the railing to make it more secure, an overriding sense I'd had all my life took over: the intuition to survive. I opened the hatch and swung inside, my rain-soaked braid flying behind me.

In their bunk bed, Annie and Neri were huddled together like scared children frightened of the storm. "Thank you for the basket," I told them softly, as if I were comforting my own children. "Awful storm outside, but you don't need to be afraid. Where is Johanna?"

Annie's green eyes were the size of dinner plates. "Cockpit, Katniss."

Nodding, I made my way to the door, then turned back and gave Neri the cookie gently. "Thank you, but I don't need this any longer," I murmured before I left.

In the cockpit, I was reintroduced to the sight of Johanna nose-to-nose with Haymitch, so enraged she could spit fire.

"It is hell outside, Abernathy!" she barked, spittle flying. "We should not be flying through this! Land _immediately_!"

"Relax, Mason, it's just a storm, you hothead!" he replied angrily. "The pilot said we could make it, and he's a veteran! How many years have you had up in the air?"

Johanna's brown eyes narrowed, and tendons sprang up in her neck. "I've spent no time flying a hovercraft, but I've seen more than my share of death in my life, and I will not allow Annie, Neri, and Katniss die just because an old drunkard and a cocksure airman _bet_ they can make it!"

Haymitch wrenched her wrist into his hand angrily. "You shut your mouth, _Mason_, unless you want me to mess up your face."

Johanna glared and hissed, "Only if I may return the favor, _Abernathy_."

Haymitch, obvious to his brim with irritation, drew back his hand for a hit, but I flung myself between them, saving Johanna and taking the full brunt of his blow. Pain tore through my face, especially on the blaze of my left cheekbone where Haymitch's wedding band had ripped my skin, but it wasn't a pain I hadn't felt before. Actually, it was a nice pain that took my mind off my inner torment.

When Haymitch noticed it was me he hit, he back up three full steps. "Katniss – I – I didn't mean to..."

Furious, Johanna stormed out of the room. "Abernathy," she tossed behind her as she went out the door. "Either way, you tried to hit a girl."

Haymitch's eyes flickered to her. "You're not _female_, Mason!"

"You wouldn't know the difference between a woman and a goat, you old drunk!" Johanna yelled as she disappeared into the quarters.

Returning his attention to me, Haymitch's face fell as he examined my face. "Ooh, that's going to leave a mark," he said, running a finger across my cheekbone to see me wince. "Geez, that looks bad. I'm sorry, sweetheart."

Bile rose in my throat. "If you're truly sorry, you won't be childish and pick fights like a schoolboy, and you will land us now," I commanded. "It's not safe here."

"That's a tall order," Haymitch muttered, rubbing his stubble-covered chin. "Well, we _can't_ land here, Everdeen. There are too many trees and too much rain to land safely. But I'll see if I can manage to grow out of being a schoolboy to you." He gave me his photogenic sarcasm smile, but I just left for the quarters.

Huffily, I walked the open space between the cockpit and the quarters, noticing the storm had only intensified, the rain pounding away in sheets. All of a sudden, a huge white light blinded me as it streaked from the sky and hit the side of the hovercraft causing the machine to jerk manically and for me to fall to the slippery metal, gripping and grating at the edges with my fingernails as my temporary blindness wore off. The second I could seem I noticed the whole side of the hovercraft was torn by the lightning, including the engine that sputtered and was then slashed off by a gale of wind. I was so frightened that I froze, paralyzed at the sight, until Johanna burst out of the quarter, horror in her wide-set brown eyes that were usually so full of venom instead. "_Katniss_!" she screamed, throwing herself forward and grabbing my arm, hurling me into the rooms. Just in time, for the second the door shut behind me, the sound of the remaining engine sputtered and died, and the hovercraft tilted, falling from the heavens.

Sheer fright electrified the air, and I slammed and rolled all across the room, along with Annie, Johanna, and Neri. Images flashed through my mind, of my mother and my sister, Prim, of my father who died when I was young. Of young Peeta tossing me a burnt loaf of bread to fill our bellies for the night. Of me throwing myself forward as tribute for the 74th Hunger Games. Of Rue dying in my arms as I sang her a lullaby. Of Peeta and I and our kiss in the cave, on live TV. Of surviving the Careers. Of killing the mutts and Cato at last. Of Peeta and I standing face-to-face, holding our handfuls of nightlock berries, star-crossed lovers. Of Peeta gently touching my braid like he loved me. And he did love me. He told me so.

Here, the visions sped up until they blurred like the scenery outside the windows of the train to the Capitol.

Returning to District 12. Reptilian eyes of President Snow and how he reeked of blood and roses. Touring. Rebellion. The Quarter Quell. Crying in the snow. Finnick offering me a cube of sugar in exchange for secrets. Cinna's bloody body in a lump on the dressing room floor. A clock island. Previous victors perishing one by one, each dying more horrible deaths than the last. Fireworks exploding as I burst the force field.

Now everything sped by in frames, and I could barely keep up.

District 13. Peeta captured. President Coin.

Mockingjay.

Mockingjay.

_Mockingjay. _

Peeta trying to kill me. Annie and Finnick. Second Rebellion. Sewers. Blood. Hate. Darkness. Disembodied heads. My little sister meeting my eyes right before she died. Snow. Roses. Rich children Games. Arrow through Coin's heart. Falling down. Getting helped up again.

_Real or not real?_

Peeta, my darling, I couldn't tell you if I knew the difference between fantasy and reality these days.

I remembered in length Peeta's marriage to me, with the biggest, most beautiful wedding cake, frosted green as the forest, my favorite color. I recalled how Peeta smiled so widely whenever he saw me, broad shoulders thrown back proudly, his china-blue eyes glittering; I saw that unruly scrap of blonde hair always falling across his forehead so I could push it back in place. All his little motions came back, small touches – even if he put a hand on my shoulder, it felt like he put it on my heart. Last, I saw the children, Prim and Marz, running through the tall golden grass to him as he played with them – piggyback rides and silly games Peeta and I never had the time or the freedom to play as a kid. This made my heart ache until I swore it squeezed smaller.

Peeta never treated me like a basket-case though everyone else did – he treated me like he loved me. And he _did_. Peeta loved me with all his soul, all his being, and though I never admitted it as profusely as he did every day, deep inside I knew I loved him fully with all of _my _self. But I never got to tell him enough, and that's what killed me.

With a thud, the hovercraft hit the ground, and everyone fell. My head whacked hard against a metal pole that held up a bunk bed, and I crumbled into a ragdoll, blackness and blood edging my vision. To keep myself awake, I told myself my children's names.

Primrose Rue Mellark.

Marzipan Cinna Mellark.

My Prim and Marz.

I didn't know if I was awake or asleep or in between, but my last vision came to me, quietly, without noise and chaos. It was one of the peaceful beginning.

Gale and I hunting in the woods, the only place where I felt like myself, where he made me laugh, taught me to survive, and taught me how to trust him, no matter what. The sunlight filtered yellow as butter between the lush green leaves, birds whistled, wind hushed, and the stream burbled, leading to the calm expanse of our lake where I first learned to swim. Gale teaching me how to draw my bowstring, how to shoot clean through the eye of a squirrel. Gale promising to take care of Mother and Prim as he held me close like it was our last embrace. Gale's wounded look when I returned from the Games, alive, but with Peeta on my arm. Gale kissing me tempestuously in the forest, showing me his love even though he knew I didn't love him.

Gale getting whipped in the town square, blood running down his bare back. Me kissing Gale to keep his mind off the pain.

Gale holding me to keep me from falling apart, showing us we were not children anymore, and maybe, we never were.

Gale telling me he loved me.

Me replying "_I know_."

How I woke up one day and he was gone to District 2, given a fancy job there.

Gale gone, and me, for some reason, _missing_ him.

Then, those words, spoken from his mouth.

"We could run away, you and I. _We'd make it_, you know."

If I had run away with Gale, would none of this agony have ever happened?

I succumbed to the pain, and knew no more.


	2. 2: Little Lion Man (Mumford & Sons)

"Wake up, Everdeen! For God's sake! Katniss! KATNISS!"

My eyes cracked open to see a shaking Johanna hovering over me, a deep slice over her left eye where a piece of debris must have cut her. She looked relieved to see me alive, and beyond her face, I saw it was no longer day, but the very dark of night, and though the skies were clear, cold, and spangled with stars, the ground smelled of fresh rainfall. Pine, earth, and musky rain-smell filled the night air.

"Is everyone okay?" I managed to ask, sitting up and putting a hand to my throbbing head.

"Annie and Neri are fine," Johanna replied pointing to where they huddled a few feet away, the mother cleaning her son's wounded arm. "The pilot's definitely dead, but I'm not sure about Abernathy..."

"I would never die on you, sweetheart!" a voice said – we turned to see a head of unruly blonde hair poke out of the rubble, attached to a soot-smeared face in which grinned a very toothy, very peppermint-white smile.

"Yes," Johanna growled sarcastically. "I should've known better. You're too annoying to die."

"Better that than dead," Haymitch grunted as he pulled himself from the wreck. "Well now that we're all present and accounted for, what do you propose we do, Queen Mason of District 7?"

"This forest is unfamiliar to me," Johanna answered, helping me to my feet. "We'll have to look for shelter. Higher ground it usually where they are built – let's go."

The only luggage we could free from the fallen craft was Annie's bag, but Johanna carried all she needed on her, like Haymitch and I, as was an effect of surviving the Games. So I shouldered my knapsack and we trekked on.

We walked for a straight hour by the light of a torch Johanna ignited. The woods were my old friends, but this was a different forest, and it was different at night. Bugs rattled and chirped about, and owls hooted eerily from the trees. Several times Annie yelped because something slithered by her feet, but we coaxed her on until a blood-curdling howl stuck us in our tracks, one so memorable that it froze my already icy bones.

"Everyone hush," Johanna whispered. "Nobody move a muscle."In one motion, she covered the flame of the torch and we stood together.

"Katniss, you know more about the forest than any of us," Annie said, Neri whimpering next to her. "What – what do you think it is?"

Another howl echoed. "I don't know," I whispered, quivering.

"You've got to know these guys, sweetheart," Haymitch snarled. "Even _I_ do. One more guess."

Finally a loud bay to the moon split the freezing night and shook my mind awake. My face numb, I heard myself say in a voice almost not my own, "_Wolf mutts_."

With a roar, a humongous shadow leapt from a cluster of bushes and right at us. Quick as a heartbeat, Haymitch whipped out his trusty knife and attacked the beast in midair, rolling around with it, all long coat and fur. Out of the forest, a pack of shadows surrounded us, all rumbling and salivating hungrily.

Several flew at Johanna, who took out her axe and swung it professionally. Annie fought off her own group of wolves back-to-back with Neri, each of them wielding a big branch they used to bludgeon the beasts with.

A low growl came from behind and I turned to see one giant wolf mutt with a scruffy grey pelt and one glistening yellow eye that glowed strangely. Slowly, I began to circle him, and him me, and I took my dagger from my belt, waving it in the air. But the animal, unfazed, pounced.

"The wolf mutt pinned me to the ground and knocked all the air from my lungs – all I could do was hold the dagger up to keep him from ripping my throat out, for he was a leftover mutt, ten times stronger and fiercer than a regular wolf. Angered at my resistance, the mutt clamped its razor teeth around my left wrist, locking its jaws so I couldn't shake free but only wail in agony. Suddenly, a human roar bellowed out behind me, and the wild mutt jumped off, frightened, and turned to run away, but he didn't get far. As soon as the wolf took one step into the woods, a wire caught him by his back leg and yanked him up in the air. It, to my relief, was a _snare_.

I stood to see a new fighter in our ranks, a cowl wrapped over his head so I couldn't see his face. He held a bow and arrow and shot a few wolves attacking us with deadly accuracy, and when a beast jumped on him and rid him of his bow, he dropped to the ground, taking the wolf with him, and plunged his knife into the wolf's ribcage, blood spurting across his clothes.

Then the man stood, and, throwing his shoulders back, gave a feral yell that would have made any lion proud. All the mutts halted, staring at him, and dashed away into the night, tails between their legs. Johanna Mason got up, panting, and drew her axe from the side of a wolf to look at the stranger, while Annie and Neri ogled him openly. Even Haymitch was speechless.

"Thank you, sir," I said to the man. "For saving us."

His head turned and he looked at me, only his eyes visible through the cowl. "I heard your craft fall," he answered in a husky, deep voice that seemed faintly familiar. "I came to investigate. You need shelter – come to my house for the night. It is not too far."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Haymitch asked, gripping his knife.

"Because," he replied. "I'm all there is here left to trust.""

We all looked at each other for a moment, until Johanna said, "Fine. We accept your invitation." The man turned and walked, and we followed him. As I went along, cold wind, slicing into my like knives, the stranger's presence seemed to keep me warm, no matter how wary I attempted to be. Finally, we reached a cabin at the top of a hill, and he let us inside. I went in last, and as he held the door, I felt him watching me all the way.

Inside the cabin we stood in the living room, where a huge crackling conflagration burned in the fireplace, seeping the iciness from our bodies. Trophies of various animals, from deer to moose to rabbits to birds, were mounted everywhere, showing our savior was an avid hunter. A large rug sat before the fire, and across the room was a large dining table carved out of oak wood. One adjoining room was a kitchen, and two more were bedrooms. I was calmed we were in a place with such warm, dry accommodations.

Our stranger threw his coat, along with his scarf, over a chair of the dining room table, not facing us. "The men may stay out here for the night near the fire, and the women in the guest bedroom –there you will find a good bed and another mantle with a fire in it. You will also find blankets and pillows in the cupboard there, and I will make you all something to eat before you go to sleep." Gratefully, we opened the cupboard and found thick fleece and wool blankets and soft, deep pillows, which we placed in our respective rooms, then came out and sat at the oak table. Johanna took her place next to me, cleaning off her axe with a cloth – the cut above her eye was crusted with dried blood. "I wonder who this guy is," she pondered aloud to us, as he was in the kitchen making us something to eat. "He sounds familiar, but I don't know him from District 7."

"I don't really care who he is, but he saved our sorry asses out there," Haymitch said, spinning his knife on his fingertip. "He could be a monkey for all I care."

Annie brushed some wet strands of her dark hair from her face, resting her hand on shivering Neri's shoulder. "He looks like he lives alone here, poor man."

"Poor man," I agreed, right before our cowled savior returned, holding a large tray of steaming plates, the scent of which just made me salivate. He placed a plate before each of us.

"Balsamic chicken and mushrooms," he explained as everyone hungrily dug into their meals. "And some fresh wheat rolls are in the basket at the center of the table. Eat up, friends."

With that, he sat at the head of the table, watching us from his cowl. Uncomfortable but needing hot sustenance, I cut into the chicken to find it coated in a sweet balsamic vinegar glaze and the mushrooms seared in the same sauce. All of it I ate up well, but I did not touch the mushrooms or the rolls at the center of the table, thinking of Peeta. I just stared at my plate, pushing around the remaining mushrooms – I just didn't like those too much – and avoiding my savior's stare that burned me. Everyone but me wanted seconds, and Haymitch thirds, and when they were all finished, you could feel how content and full everyone was. Haymitch and Neri rose to gather their blankets and pillows to bed down next to the fire, and as I got up with the women, a hand on my wrist stopped me. The stranger held me gently.

"You don't go there tonight," he murmured. "You will stay in my room so I may talk to you." Swallowing hard and nodding, I looked at Annie and Johanna, who cast me fond looks and went into their room, thinking probably that he wanted more than just to talk. Slowly, I followed the man down the hallway to his master bedroom, and when he let me inside, he shut the door behind me and locked it. My face was a mask, but my heartbeat hiccupped with fear.

The room was beautiful, with a fireplace and a canopy bed hung with blood-red curtains trimmed in gold, and a blanket of dark bear fur and a few red-and-gold pillows on the mattress; a carved chair with red cushion sat next to the fire, its wooden arms ending in animalistic claws that curled down. Without a word, the stranger walked in front of me, removing his second jacket so now he stood in his loose white shirt and tan breeches. He undid the cowl at last, letting it fall at his feet in a pile of blue cloth, but still he stayed facing away.

"I thought I knew you when I saw you, you know," he murmured. "Your reaction to the snare. The way you braid your hair. 'One-hundred percent functional,' as you always said."

Suddenly, my throat tightened – only one person knew I said that. "It can't be," I said, barely more than a whisper.

"And I definitely knew it was you when you didn't eat the mushrooms," he went on. "Never liked those much, did you?" Then the man turned and faced me, and I took a sharp inhalation.

"Gale Hawthorne," I breathed.

He laughed. "I knew it was you, Catnip."


	3. 3: It's Been Awhile (Staind)

For a long time we just stood and took each other in, my old friend and I. My fingers trembled like branches in a strong wind as I looked him up and down.

Gale was – _gorgeous_. He stood well over six feet tall, with a muscular build as always, a lean bone-and-muscle predator structure, a hunter body. He had the same olive skin, though tougher, and his straight, jet-black hair had grown to shoulder length; it was feathered grey at the temples with age, making him look experienced and even wilder. Grizzled and black stubble coated his cheeks, chin, and jaw in an unkempt way, and most staggering of all, his stunning grey eyes still gleamed the exact same hue from the day I first hunted with him in the forest. I looked down to see his white shirt was unbuttoned enough to reveal some of his bronze, muscle-bound chest below, which made me stare longer than I intended to. Gale laughed, and my gaze was drawn back to his dazzling smile.

"You don't look so great, Katniss," he remarked. My open mouth turned into a frown, but he just took a few steps forward. "No, I mean no offense, but – you're so gaunt...and _pale_," he observed, gesturing to me. "It looks like you haven't eaten in days –_weeks_, Katniss!" Gale's jaw dropped. "And your face! What is that awful cut from?"

My hand flew to Haymitch's accidental wound and covered it. "Oh, it's nothing. Just a scratch from the crash. Nothing to be bothered with."

"Nonsense," Gale said, ignoring my protests. "I'm going to get some medicine for that cut before it gets infected – and you look so cold and wet too! While I'm gone, look in my wardrobe and put on some dry clothes." Without another word, my old friend was gone.

Sighing at his ever-present kindness and silly helpfulness, I went over to his wardrobe. Inside were his hunting clothes, as usual, smelling of leather and wool. But as I sifted through them, I found behind that rack was another rack of clothes that made my face burn out of anger and embarrassment, The second rack was full of women's clothes, all blouses and skirts and dresses and night slips. Though I wasn't surprised, I was still mad – Gale had always attracted women, so why not bring them out here to his cabin with him to...to do whatever the handsome man wanted them to do? I took out one of Gale's woolen sweaters three sizes too big for me and pulled it on, throwing my old clothes in a pile, but keeping my wet pants on.

When Gale returned, he came with two bowls full, one of water, one of medicine. "Still want to wear those wet pants?" he asked, brows knitted.

"Yes," I replied. "I am very comfortable wearing just what I'm wearing."

Gale smirked. "Suit yourself, Catnip." He motioned for me to sit on the bed, sitting down next to me when I did, making the bed springs groan under his weight of muscle. Gale dipped a white towel in the bowl of water and started to clean the wound gently, like he was touching a holy relic. I sat as still as I could, quietly, though in pain, digging my fingers into the knots of bearskin blanket beneath me. I didn't like to show pain – it only made you vulnerable.

"Remember that day I was whipped at the pole and you took care of me after?" he smiled, like a little boy recalling a day he went to an amusement park. "Now I'm just repaying the favor. If in a smaller way."

"Well," I admitted through gritted teeth. "You certainly did protest less than I'm doing now."

"You're doing well, Catnip," he said reassuringly. "You haven't bitten me yet. Good little soldier."

When Gale was done, he moved onto the spreading of the homemade medicine onto the cut, and I found myself watching his fingers the whole time, those marvelous, long, strong digits connected to his callused knuckles. I'd always admired his hands – they were strong enough to mine coal and delicate and precise enough to set snares. I trusted those hands, and I found now every time he touched me with them melted me. At this close proximity, he smelled of woody alder smoke, and I felt myself growing nearer to his chest...

Gale accidentally probed the medicine deeper into the cut than he intended, and I yelped in discomfort, throwing my right hand up to cover the wound.

"Did I hurt you? Katniss, what's wrong?" He took my right hand and squeezed it gently. "I'm so sorry..." Gale's words faded, and I looked to see he was holding my right hand and looking at the diamond wedding ring on it. His grey eyes were frozen pools of shock, and it made my heart hurt.

"Did you – marry him?" Gale asked, his voice weaker than its usual robust tone, like every word wounded him. He trembled like a leaf in the winter breeze.

"Yes…Peeta married me," I answered quietly. Gale gripped my wrist softly with those big, strong hands of his, concerned.

"Why wasn't your husband on the hovercraft with you?" Gale asked.

"I don't really want to talk about it." And I didn't, even to trustworthy Gale. "I'm sorry."

"Tell me the reason, Katniss," Gale insinuated. Tension made the room crackle like summer air.

"I don't want to," I answered firmly, knowing talking of Peeta would make me cry.

"Because he took another way?" Gale questioned. "Because he didn't want to be with his wife?"

"No," I replied, trying to keep calm, but feeling tears drip from my eyes. "No, Gale. He wanted to be with me, and the whole hovercraft crash was an accident – he never intended it to happen, you know."

"But why wasn't he with you, Katniss? And why are you crying?" Gale asked, standing over me now; he pointed to the cut on my cheek. "Did he beat you? Answer me, please!"

"Stop it, Gale!" I spat, angry because he didn't believe me, because he thought Peeta could do this to me. Because Peeta was dead. "How could you think of such a thing?"

Gale's grey eyes looked straight into mine, and then he let my hand go, walking to the window, running a hand through his black hair. "I can't believe you married him," he murmured, trying to calm himself. "Do you have little ones?"

"Yes. Two. Marzipan and Primrose."

But instead of being happy, Gale just kept staring out the window, numbed. "Why wasn't he with you all this time, Katniss? You could've died!" he cried, raising his voice. "Why did he leave the children? A good husband would be with you, Katniss, anywhere you go. Why did he leave you?"

"I don't know," I replied slowly, through teary vision and gritted teeth. Hurt at my once-friend built. He was so insensitive, jumping to conclusions too fast, and his blows caught me off guard.

Gale turned and looked at me, a mixture of puzzlement and rage in his face. "What do you mean you _don't know_?"

"He died, Gale," I said, voice quivering. "He died in the same way our fathers did – a mine accident. Peeta died saving the man who took over your position in the mines when you left for District 2." My voice cracked, and I swallowed the pain, lowering my eyes and feeling hot tears stream down my cheeks. A small sound of sad surprise fell out of Gale's lips, and he tried to take my hand. Roughly, I jerked my arm back and turned away from him.

"Get out," I said, staring out the window. "Please."

"Katniss," he said softly, "I'm sorry…if there's anything I can do to make it - "

"You can get out of here," I hissed. "That would make it better. Please, Gale." Contempt laced my words, but I didn't care anymore. I needed to be by myself.

Gale nodded and let me get under the bearskin blanket as he tended to the fire, feeding it a few more logs. Then he turned, saw me curled up in the center of the big bed, and came over to my side to tuck me in, just like I used to tuck my sister Prim in at night.

"You've changed a lot," he observed, face repentant as his hands pressed the bearskin to fit comfortably around the contours of my body. "Lost weight, lost color, lost the flame in your eyes that I used to love. Whatever happened to the girl on fire?" Gale tried to get me to smile, but the words struck me right in the heart.

"Maybe she got put out," I breathed back.

Gale leaned in close but stopped just a breath away from my face so I could smell his natural cologne of wood smoke that left me speechless. "Or maybe she's just sleeping," he whispered, his mouth sending hot breath tingling over my skin. "And this is a dream she'll wake up from."

Then Gale pressed a kiss to the top of my head, warm breath nestling in my hair. And like a shadow, he was gone, closing the door quietly behind him.

Slinking lower in the bed, I stretching my legs under the warm sheets, savoring the coarse sheets against my bare calves. Living in luxuries of fleece and silk made me long for a bit of roughness, because it was reminiscent of the home I used to know. It reminded me of District 12 before it had been wiped away, reminded me of people I used to know. Mother before she disappeared into a world of helping others but not her last daughter. Prim and Peeta before they passed.

As I dozed off, one last thought floated into my mind with white sails.

Gale was the last piece of home I had left.


	4. 4: Beam Me Up (P nk)

The scent of rough linen woke me up, and I snuggled into its warmth, my mind clinging to the memory of the morning of the Reaping of my first Hunger Games, when the world was calm and still, if only for a moment. It was before it all changed – Mother was laid away in her cot with Father's face looking over her from its photograph on her bedside table, pissy old Buttercup was laid on the windowsill in a patch of golden sun, snoring, and Prim was climbing into my bed with me, curling up next to my body for warmth and comfort. Her sunshine-colored hair would always be up against my face when she did this, and as I recall, it always smelled like a consoling combination of musty cloth and wind-blown grass. But as I woke up now, the more the smell faded, and Prim's memory was just a dusty old book I was forced to put on its shelf again.

The dream was over. The wonder was gone, and I realized I wasn't in District 12, but in Gale's cabin, all warm underneath a luxurious bearskin blanket. I lay there, letting my ears detect the sounds of movement and laughter around the dining table, the clink of plates and silverware, but I didn't feel hungry. Eventually, the bright sun falling just right in my eyes annoyed me enough so that I got out of bed, tidied myself, and went out the door.

All my friends from the hovercraft sat around the table, digging into their breakfast and laughing at Gale, who sat at the head of the table, telling some hunting tale. Haymitch, halfway into what looked like his second stack of pancakes doused in maple syrup, saw me and said through a mouthful, "Well, well, look, it's Sleeping Beauty come to join the living! How was your night, sweetheart?"

"Fine," I answered, forcing a little smile and sitting next to Johanna, who was busy stuffing herself; I sat far enough away from Gale so he wouldn't see how he affected me. "I slept better than I have in a while."

"That's good," Annie grinned, looking at Neri, who was actually eating nice and heartily. "Gale said he called some of his friends so they can pick us up this morning and take us to New Capitol this afternoon in time for Prim's seventeenth. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Oh, that is convenient," I answered. "Who are his friends?'

"Stonemasons from District 2," Johanna replied. "They will ride through here on their way to deliver a load of granite to New Capitol."

"That's odd," I observed, poking at an egg given to me by Annie. "I recall Gale got a job in District 2 – so then why is he here?"

"Ooh, I know this one," Gale grinned from his side of the table, holding up a hand. "Pick me! I know why Gale is in District 7!"

I snorted and savagely ate a bite of egg, the yellow yolk dripping down my lip like the blood of an animal.

Gale just smirked, self-satisfied. "I was offered a job as a bomb-maker in District 2, but after a while I found I hated the city and longed for the forest life. I became so rich at my job, I was able to buy this cabin here as a vacation home. I come here often with guests."

_Female guests_, I thought to myself, irritated as I wiped my mouth with a napkin. "Well, it's good you struck it rich and got all you wanted," I said coolly, standing and pushing my chair in. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to get dressed and ready for the rest of our trip." Quietly I exited into Annie and Johanna's room for the previous night and shut the door behind me.

I remembered I had packed my spare change of clothes into my knapsack, so I stripped off my wet pants and Gale's big woolen sweater to trade them for my nicely-fitted peasant blouse with gold trim and my dark brown smooth leather pants. Stuffing my sweater and old pants into the knapsack, I found an amethyst-colored ribbon and rewove it and one metallic-gold ribbon into my brown braid to clean it up. In this room was a little vanity with a mirror, and in it I saw my reflection, which I hadn't seen in a while.

My pale skin was stretched tight over my bones like I hadn't eaten in a while – well, really I hadn't. Worry lines creased between my brow, and there were curved lines worn on the sides of my mouth from smiling so much after I'd married Peeta. I noticed the healing scar on my cheekbone from where Haymitch's wedding band had scratched me was recovering nicely thanks to Gale's medicine. Quickly, I shook my head to lose all thoughts of Gale and exited the room. Just as I did, several heavy knocks sounded from the front door, and I watched Annie and Neri simultaneously jump in their seats; Johanna gripped her axe handle, and Haymitch reached for his knife instinctually, but Gale just jumped up from his seat, strode across the room with a reassuring smile, and threw open the huge door. There stood two men with shaved heads – one short and stocky, the other tall and muscular, with a scar running from his cheek to his jaw line. They beamed when they saw Gale, and my old hunting companion embraced them both in a very manly, back-slapping bear hug. Stunned, I just stood and stared until they were done, standing there to size each other up. Gale turned to us with his famous, most-photographed lopsided grin and gestured to the stonemasons.

"Everyone, let me introduce you to my friends from District 2 – the handsome one is Chisel, and his short companion is Chunk," Gale explained, earning him a playful but painful-looking kick in the knee from Chunk. "Chis, Chunk, these wonderful people staying with me are Annie, her son, Neri, Mr. Abernathy, Johanna Mason, and, the one and only, Katniss Everdeen."

I flushed a crimson of embarrassment and anger at Gale, because the stonemasons, who'd treated everyone politely, now put most of their attention on me, for I was the famed Mockingjay. Chisel turned to me first, holding out a giant callused hand. "My, as I live and breathe – Katniss Everdeen!" he chuckled, his voice a deep bass. "Gale, you didn't tell me how beautiful she is in real life!" I blushed terribly, but Chunk came up to me with moony eyes before I could reply.

"I remember watching you on television when I was young," he gawked. "You always fought like a wildcat – you were the heroine of our generation!" Chunk took my other hand. "Ms. Everdeen, I can't believe Gale was your friend for all these years! Is that really true?"

"Oh, yes," I piped up, smiling smoothly as I leaned on the table. "Did he ever tell you he even kissed me once?"

Chisel and Chunk both looked at Gale, surprised, and my old friend had a crimson blush growing up his neck – he pulled at his collar. "Yeah – well, it wasn't much. I mean, she kind of kissed _me_…"

"As I recall, you kissed _me_, Gale," I said, stretching my fake smile. "We were out in the woods together and you kissed me, right on the lips…oh, for about a minute, I guess? You were the lucky one, huh?"

"What about that time I was half-dead after being whipped at the pole?" he answered, face now rosy with embarrassment. "Oh, I was sure you kissed me then, Catnip, because I couldn't even raise my head."

"That was because you were in pain!" I answered back, quicker than intended. "I needed to keep your mind off the damned lash marks all over your back!"

"Ha, don't lie to yourself!" he snapped. "You wanted me!"

"Whatever," I hissed, and then under my breath, "Braggart."

"What did you say?" Gale rose his voice and took a step closer.

"Nothing," I growled, also stepping closer to him. "And if I did say something, what's it to _you_?"

"Alright, children," Haymitch interrupted, standing between us so we didn't tear each other apart with our glares. "Playtime's over. How about we get our stuff packed and outside so these nice men will take us to New Capitol for _your_ daughter's birthday, Katniss." Haymitch's more strained tone and a burning look from him made me know better than to argue. With a huff, I shouldered my knapsack, nodded at the two stonemasons, and went outside, flanked by Johanna and Annie, with Neri following hesitantly behind.

Outside, the air was fresh and clean from the rain, and Chis and Chunk's covered vehicle sat in the muddy road, the insignia of District 2 stamped on the side of it. Chis swung into the driver's seat, Haymitch took shotgun, and Chunk climbed into the back of the truck with us as we all sandwiched into the seat rows like sardines. Johanna, Neri, and Annie took the first row of seats, and I hesitated at the step into the vehicle as I realized, as Chunk and Gale took up two-thirds of the remaining seat, I would have to sit next to Gale. My hand tightened on the rail of the truck, and I glared at my enemy.

"Oh come on, Catnip," he smiled soundly, reaching out one of those rough hands of his. "Get inside. I don't bite." Hesitantly, I took his hand and let him pull me to my seat, plopping me down next to him. With all the will I had, I forced myself to not look at him, even as I felt the truck start up and begin to bump down the road. I crossed my arms over my chest and tried as hard as I could to breathe light and act like a statue. Gale stared at my hands.

"Developed your nasty habit again, haven't you?" he said softly.

I turned ever so slightly to look at him out of the corner of my eye. "What?"

"Your nail-biting. You're doing it again. You do it…when you're nervous."

I gazed down quickly at my nails, bitten down to little stubs, remembering nights clutching my pillow in a cold sweat, thinking of Peeta, my teeth shredding the nails and the skin around them, making me bleed sometimes; I would suck the blood off my fingers while it was fresh so as not to let it crust there. Now, quickly, I shoved my hands into my armpits. "Yes, I guess I do," I replied curtly. "At least my habits aren't as nasty as your habits."

"_My_ habits?"

"Running away from me and such without saying goodbye." I didn't even mention the women's clothing left in his closet.

Gale sighed but held his tongue. After a moment of silence, he went to the end of the truck and swung onto the rope ladder leading to the covered truck's roof; he climbed up without a word to retreat into his solitude, much like I did. Annie came to sit next to me where she put her hand on my forearm and smiled gently, saying, "If you don't let go of your past, you'll never have a future, Katniss. Just…try to be softer. For me."

There was nothing really soft about me anymore – the years had worn on my body, making it bony and tough, resistant, and my eyes were stones. But I knew how much Annie did for me, so I looked at her and nodded, best I could. "Alright," I managed. "I'll try."

Annie grinned at me and held my hand comfortingly, stroking it like she would stroke her son's hand when he was nervous, drawing circles around the knuckles with her fingertips lightly and soothingly. Soon the dirt road turned to somewhat of gravel, and then to paved. Buildings spurted up as hours rolled by, and in the afternoon we drove down a road next to the railway station so familiar to me, bringing back memories of arrivals before screaming fans and bloodthirsty betters. Memories of Peeta smiling his charismatic smile and holding my hand, but not to look cute…just to make sure he kept me close.

Now I was back in this place, where the buildings had lost their candy-colored coating and wore more proper colors of brown, grey, green, blue, yet they still scraped the sky with their tops. Here, trees were allowed to grow some along the roads, and the inhabitants weren't birds-of-paradise any longer but normal men, women, and children; the street was a motley mix of carts, horses, trucks, and people, herding animals, doing business, bringing in goods and services from all over Panem. A society had rooted here, and a new generation grew here, knowing little of the reign of President Snow's terror and his Games. I saw the city and my chest tightened, remembering those days inside the prison with golden chains.

"This is it," Chis announced from the front seat, "New Capitol."


	5. 5: UNI (Ed Sheeran)

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've posted another chapter to this story - I've had a monster essay I had to finish, and a lot of personal drama and whatnot. I hope you enjoy the new chapter, and if you have any constructive criticism or feedback, I'd be delighted to read it! Thank you!

* * *

Winding our way down the main street of New Capitol, which was bursting with flourishing business everywhere, all of us gazed out of the truck, star-struck. Tall buildings, once used as apartments for the rich Capitol citizens, now housed new tenants of all ages, races, and class. Here was a place of opportunity, full of middle-class now, not poor slaves and rich nobles. Effie had often written to me about New Capitol and all the radical changes going on…it was now a democratic republic, as Panem had been in the old days, and all men and women could vote; now the place was currently under President Aura, a female politician known for her charity acts to refugees from the Districts entering the city. All this was new to me, since it had been years and years since I'd been inside the place, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Gale staring at me as I looked over the people around us. I looked at him challengingly - he smirked, then looked away.

Grinding the truck to a halt alongside a curb, Chis hopped out of the vehicle and helped us down, one by one. "This is the last stop, I'm afraid, my friends," he explained, grinning and standing next to Chunk, who picked his teeth silently. "We have to drop off some stone at the docking station…I wish you well at the party, Ms. Everdeen." Chis took my hand and shook it before helping me down. Then he and Gale embraced, Chunk gave Gale a swift kick to the knee for good measure, and the masons took off down the busy street, honking all the way. I turned around to see my ramshackle crew in the evening-light, made of gentle Annie, nervous Neri, confused Johanna, nonchalant Haymitch, and grinning-like-a-smartass Gale.

"Well," Gale said gently, "Where to, Ms. Everdeen?"

I pressed my lips together with frustration until they went numb. "I…well Effie said the dance is at the Cleer's Club…and so that should be…" Turning in circles, I tried to orient myself with the city, but everything was new here and I had no idea where I was going.

"Lost, eh?" Gale grinned, crossing his arms over his chest. My face flushed.

"No…just need to have a vantage point of some sort…the top of some skyscraper. With all these tall buildings you can't see the place we need…damned people…I mean darned, sorry, Neri, I apologize…" As I stepped out into the street to redirect myself, I nearly got ran over by a horse-carriage and had to be pulled to safety by Johanna. Huffing and defeated on the sidewalk, I knit my eyebrows and exhaled, remembering Annie's plea to be soft and gentle. "Well alright, all-knowing Mr. Hawthorne, where is it you think we should go?"

Nodding patiently, Gale pulled out of his vest a globe that looked to be made of glass. With a few taps on its surface in certain places, the globe lit up…into a map of what appeared to be New Capitol, labeled and all. Gale slid on a glove of black suede to hold the globe with (as I supposed it to be a precautionary handling wear) and told the globe, in a distinct, clear voice, "Route to: Cleer's Club." With a tinkling four-note melody to show it complied, the globe whirled and a green line lit up on the map, pointing us to our destination. I watched in amazement.

"How in hell did you get one of those things?" Haymitch rasped, scratching his stubbly face.

"I made it," Gale replied, getting us across the street unscathed while we followed the map in his crystal ball. "I'm pretty good with technology and I travel a lot, so I thought one of these might be useful. And it is nearly impossible to get across New Capitol without one of these things."

"Can it do anything else?" Johanna asked, curious bending her head towards the thing.

"Oh yes…there's not one thing this baby cannot do, I have found. I've programmed her well…all she can't do is speak, which she makes up for in movements and little songs. I call her Lady." Gale stroked the glass globe with his ungloved hand lovingly. I wanted so badly to mutter some venomous, sarcastic remark, but Annie gave me a look and I let it slide. Well, naming crystal balls like household pets could be a sign of loneliness or pure insanity on Gale's part, but I would let that little remark be left to the imagination of my troupe as we went on.

Creer's Club was one of the buildings that still tried to hold tight to old Capitol architecture and people. Creer's served as a relaxing getaway for the richer of New Capitol. It was constructed with several levels of luxurious dining rooms and spacious ballrooms for parties and get-togethers of all sorts. Furnished with the finest, most advanced technology, the upper floors of Creer's were suites for the guests to stay in, providing comfortable beds and those complicated showers with millions of different scented soaps and such. Creer's sat at the top of New Capitol's most pricey places to stay at, and President Aura got wind of Katniss Everdeen's daughter's birthday, so she, sparing no expense, bought out the Creer's Club for all the people dear to Prim, friends and family and all in between.

Gale led us into the building where we packed into a spacey glass elevator and rode up to the dining room. Johanna and I exchanged glances for a minute, and I saw a small smile curl on her lips, matching my own. She and I shared a memory of an elevator from some time ago, but it was still pretty memorable.

Once the doors opened, we stepped out, finding ourselves in a huge room full of tables all decked out in blue, Prim's favorite color. Prim stood in the center of the room, surrounded by several friends and her tall brother, ordering designers and workers around in her friendly yet firm way so they put lilies in the glass vases and ran over the music selection again. She saw me, and I couldn't help but pull a smile that hurt my heart.

Prim had grown up so much from the days Peeta and I played with her out in the tall golden grass…She had lost her childlike chubbiness and was now slender and beautiful, with Peeta's china-blue eyes and his blonde hair, which fell long and loose down her back; it was streaked with light blue strands, as the Capitol fashion still held to its unnatural colors, despite years of government and population change. She looked like a lovely waif, with my litheness and Peeta's paleness. At not seeing me in such a long time, she looked very appreciative of me showing up, a smile lighting her white face.

"Hey, Mom!" she exclaimed, closing the space between us and wrapping her arms around me for a tight hug, pulling my bony body into hers. "I'm so glad you could make it!" From Effie's letters, Prim had become quite the good-natured socialite at her school, popular, with a sense for fashion and design. Of course being the daughter of Katniss Everdeen would certainly win you popularity points in the Capitol, but Prim handled it expertly with her characteristics of graceful charm and inexhaustible optimism…two features definitely attributed to Peeta.

Grinning into her long blonde hair scented with violet soap, I returned the hug, patting my daughter's back gratefully. "How have you been, Prim?"

"Great, Mom," she beamed, standing back and looking at my group. "Hello Uncle Haymitch and Johanna and…everyone else."

I nodded towards them, my duty to introduce them. "This is Gale, my old friend from District 12, and this is Annie, my friend, and her son, Neri."

Beaming even brighter, Prim shook hands with them all, even with Neri, who managed to pry himself from standing behind his mother to offer her his hand. Prim took it gently but firmly, shaking it securely, looking up at his tall figure with a kind expression. Neri's large bottle-green eyes looked at her for a moment, meeting Prim's, and then his gaze darted away, returning to its cave of shyness. That was the first time I'd ever seen Neri wish to interact with someone outside of his comfort zone, and in the air between sympathetic Prim and scarred Neri, I felt a flicker of something I missed, something I'd held off on for so long. The youthful shyness, the bashfulness of strangers just entering into knowing each other. This tenderness in the air made me shiver, and to tugged at my knees like a snare. It took all my effort not to look at Gale, who I knew was looking at me.

"Hey, Mom," said a less enthusiastic voice to the side of me; there stood Marzipan, affectionately known as Marz. He was a year younger than Prim, but four inches taller, with my dark brown hair that was gelled into soft spikes tipped with fiery red and orange dye on his head. Marz looked just like a dark-haired, rougher, taller Peeta, same muscular build, same exact face. His eyes were beautiful, a gold-amber color that had run from somewhere in my family. He fit into the more rebellious section of New Capitol teenage boys, but he was truly good at heart.

"Hey, Marzi, how are you?" I smiled, hugging him tight. He was more reluctant to hug me than Prim. He shrugged back and forced a smirk.

"It's Marz, Mom…just Marz," he choked. Prim shot him a look, but he continued. "Who's your boyfriend?"

I flushed red with embarrassment. "He's not my boyfriend, Marz…he's just an old friend. His name is Gale Hawthorne."

"As if I haven't heard about him before. I've read in history books he helped you out in District 13. Who knows what else he helped you out with."

"That's quite enough, Marz," Prim snapped, turning towards him and putting a hand on his chest. "Now if I recall correctly, you still have a suit you need to be fitted for. So instead of being a crude boy bubbling with snarky comments, how about you go and do that?"

"Whatever," Marz huffed. "But if Mom and him do the dirty, tell me, ok? Then I can say 'I told you so.'" Before anyone could respond, Marz turned, revealing an ear full of decorative New Capitol metal piercings, and he walked away at a fast clip to the tailor.

"That boy needs a talking to," Haymitch grumbled. "I'll do it later for you, Everdeen, don't you worry." But Haymitch was drawn away like a moth to a flame as a familiar face appeared in the room – Effie Trinket, now Effie Abernathy, who had lost her face-paint and outrageous wigs and outfits for her natural caramel-colored long hair, lovely smiling features, and a well-fitted blouse and jeans; her taste for heels never staled, as she still wore a plain black pair now, which elongated her slender calves. Haymitch met her halfway and hugged her, picking her up and spinning her around in the air, to the laughter of both of them. They were good for each other, those two, and I loved seeing them together.

Prim went over to chat to Effie about how she was going with the guest list, and Annie went to show Neri all the beautiful flowers all across the room. Johanna stood next to me, at rest. "Well," admired Johanna, "Your daughter's got a wonderful sense for fashion."

"She does," I agreed. And Gale's got a wonderful taste for women, I thought as I gazed across the room and saw Gale talking to several young female servants, gesturing to the food and the layout of the place; they all had googly eyes for the handsome Gale, gathering around his feet like love-struck puppies. I tolerated him with them, and just coped with my boredom as the party was arranged around me. But one memory stuck in my mind, right before I went back to my suite room.

The back of a tall man in a well-fitted black suit caught my eye; his hair, from the back, was well-trimmed and of a silver-black color, indicating a handsome age. He was speaking to a servant, who listened to him with rapt attention. Then he clandestinely handed the servant a handful of something that the servant pocketed. Suspicion aroused my animal instincts, and despite all my personal drama, I had a gut feeling that pointed towards something disastrous occurring during Prim's few-days-long banquet.

I stored it in the back of my head and kept waiting, not knowing in this risky game whether I would be the predator or the prey.


	6. 6: Run (Daughter)

Prim's first banquet night had come, but I had a gut feeling that made me completely reluctant to go to the celebrations. I worked the knobs for the elaborate New Capitol showers and even discovered a new button or two. After detangling my hair and washing it in a rosemary-mint rinse, the shower dried my hair in luscious dark brown waves. It also dispensed flower hairpins the exact shade of green as my dress.

Pinning my hair up, I put on my emerald-green dress, one that came off the shoulder and lower flowed into a full skirt. It was embroidered with thousands of silk blooms, and the skirt was a spread of flowers on a field of lace and silk. I placed a green flower barrette in my hair, and my vanity was skilled enough to do my makeup, brushing out stunning greens and golds on my eyelids with its robotic arm. I stared in the mirror and thought of Peeta again. I thought of how he loved to see me in green.

Tears sprung to my eyes, but I held them down. I couldn't go out crying to my daughter's birthday.

Closing the door to my suite room behind me, I stepped out into the hallway and knocked on Annie's door. After a moment, Annie opened the door, beautiful in a frilly shell-pink gown and white silk gloves.

"Oh Katniss! You look stunning!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands – she looked like a little girl again. "Absolutely stunning! Neri's gone downstairs – I had told Prim how he braided hair so nicely, and she asked him to style her hair tonight! It's fantastic!"

"Katniss? Is that you?" came Johanna's voice from inside the room. "If it is, can you save me from this wretched thing eating my waist? I believe it's called a dress…"

"Oh Johanna!" Annie giggled. "Come on! Get out here! Let Katniss see how pretty you look!"

Shuffling out of the room like a socially-awkward penguin, Johanna stepped into the hall. A tight purple dress hugged her slender form, and it clutched at her like a second skin. Trying to pull the short thing further down her thighs, Johanna eyed me desperately through a thick coat of mascara and black eyeliner. Her short black hair appeared soft and loosely curled, framing her thin face. Johanna would have appeared pretty if she did not wear an expression of absolute terror.

"This feels like a vise," Johanna grumbled. "Or perhaps a straight jacket."

"You're preaching to the choir, Mason," Haymitch said, coming behind me in a full tuxedo, which included the customary heavy black jacket. "For wearing this, Effie better treat me good tonight."

Johanna gagged, then pretended to be coughing.

Haymitch shot her a smirk. "Ha _ha_. Come on, toothpick. We're gonna be late." Taking Johanna by her twiggy arm, Haymitch led my tottering high-heeled friend to the elevator.

Feeling a hand on my arm, I looked down to see Annie gazing up at me with gleaming eyes and a small smile. I felt a wobbling in my heart, anxiousness like that of a girl on her first date. I hadn't worn a dress in so long, and now I felt young again, a teenage Mockingjay.

I was no old heroine.

I was a girl on fire.

* * *

Gilt doors of the elevator opened before us, and I gazed across the ballroom in amazement. The lights were dimmed, and the only illumination came from two spotlights flashing across the dance floor, beams of blue and purple through the dark. Prim's New Capitol friends were all on the floor, a writhing mass of color, wild outfits, and sweaty bodies.

Such a change from when I was their age.

Everyone in the room seemed to light up when they saw me and recognized an old piece of history stepping into this modern museum. I made eye contact with no one, so as not to be forced to do an idiotic fake smile. Luckily, a familiar figure approached Annie and me with a smile to make up for the both of us.

"Katniss! How good it is to see you again!" President Aurora exclaimed as she took my hand and squeezed it tenderly –she knew my dislike of greeting hugs all too well. Aurora looked lovely as always this evening. She wore a toga-style dress that was dipped in the colors of the sunset. The beautiful dress accentuated her chocolate skin and black hair.

"A pleasure to see you also, President," I replied, curtseying curtly. She smiled at me brightly.

"I shouldn't hold you away too long – go see your daughter! She looks as wonderful as you do tonight," Aurora said, edging towards Annie. "I'm sure I can talk to Mrs. O'Dair for a little while. Enjoy the party!"

I nodded and made my way down the stairs, eyes lightning on my daughter instantly. She wore a miraculous sparkly gown of blue and violet with a full skirt that made her look like a princess. Most noticeable of all was her hair, woven back into an intricate set of braids. The interlocking strands of golden and light blue hair contrasted nicely with her pale face, and soon I saw the young man who wove her braids appear by her side. It was Neri, looking shy and handsome in a suit, his copper hair slicked back and sea-green eyes shining proudly. He looked more like Finnick than ever, with the beginnings of a strong confidence in him, and I knew he had certainly turned Prim's head. They danced on the floor together, never leaving each other's eyes.

Marz stood across the room in a sharp black suit and red dress shirt that matched his fire-dipped hair. Instead of lingering with the popular kids of New Capitol, he was talking to Johanna Mason. Marz had puppy-dog eyes looking up to my severe, attractive friend. Johanna looked terrified at the idea of making casual conversation.

My eyes finally lit on Haymitch and Effie, who were twirling and dancing to the beat of the music. She had lost the makeup, and now such natural joy flowed from the Capitol lady's eyes that she was the most beautiful woman in the room in her simple golden dress. Haymitch looked like the luckiest man in the world.

I felt alone, above everyone else on my frozen mountain. I was happy for their love and their lives, but mine.

Mine was shattered beyond compare.

And nothing could ever change that.

"Miss Everdeen," a sly voice grated behind me, sending shivers down my spine. "I believe we have not _met_."

Turning, I saw a tall man with such severe handsomeness that it shocked me to the core. He had jet-black hair tinged silver at the temples, and every one of his ashen features seemed cut out of stone. His face was well-defined, all angles and lines, and he had a twitch of a smile that made something in my heart ache for familiarity. Even though I checked his eyes and saw they were the reliable color of brown, I felt a déjà vu overwhelming my brain.

_Real or not real?_

_Oh, my dear Miss Everdeen. I thought we had agreed not to lie to each other._

Turning the awful thoughts out of my mind, I managed a small smile. "No, sir…we have not met."

"Of course. I would surely remember a face as lovely as yours," he grinned as he loomed over me, taking my hand and kissing it slowly. I shivered inwardly as his warm lips brushed my flesh, sending tingles all through me.

"What is your name?" I asked, trying to divert my mind somehow.

"Keanu Polaris," he announced, his eyes never leaving me for a second. "I have always looked forward to meeting you, Miss Everdeen. Now you're so much more of a gem in real life. Would you mind it at all if I was your dance partner?"

"No, sir….well I just don't dance at all, not like I used to."

"Come on," he hissed, gripping my wrist with such force it took my breath away. "For _me,_ Miss Everdeen." I knew I should be frightened of this overwhelming man, but some animal instinct deep inside of me roiled in my chest, tearing at my brain with sharp claws.

"I suppose I can take you up on that offer," I replied, looping my arm in his. Looking down at me, he led me down the stairs and onto the floor.

Keanu then assumed the position, holding my hand as he seized control of my hip, digging his thumb into my hipbone. "Good. Then let us begin." A gasp ripped from my lips as he held me closer than any man ever held me before, turning me about the dance floor. I lost myself to the rhythm of the song, and though I tried to keep sharp and focused on all around me, Keanu's presence thrummed through me, hypnotic and dark.

Pivoting, his hips went to grind against mine confidently, and I squeezed his hand as he did so, shocked and amazed by his assurance. Keanu chuckled at this reaction and leaned down so that his mouth was right next to my ear to say in a husky voice:

"How does it feel to dance with your equal, Miss Everdeen? You are a predator, but who's to say I am not one as well?"

Keanu extended me twirling away from him, and then reeled me in quickly so I connected with my back to his chest. Gripping my neck with just enough strength to be seductive but not enough to be threatening, Keanu nipped at my earlobe.

A little moan escaped my lips. I should've been on edge with him, but some carnal instinct deep inside me made me feel as natural with him as a shewolf with her dominant male. I reached back and dug my fingernails into the back of his neck.

"You're quite fascinating, Miss Everdeen," he purred into my shoulder. "Would you care to come take a walk on the roof with me? Go somewhere…more _private_?"

"Actually, taking her somewhere more private was _my_ plan."

Snapping open my eyes, I saw Gale standing before us, hands clasped behind his back gentlemanly. Surprisingly, I found him quite handsome. He had a clean-shaven face and stood in full suit at his wonderful height, which was even a few inches taller than Keanu.

Gale looked…gorgeous.

Even if he was a jackass.

He smirked openly and gazed evenly at Keanu and tilted his head. "Pleased to meet you, Mr.…?"

Keanu let go of me reluctantly and straightened his tie, cracking the vertebrae in his neck. "Polaris," he replied, thinly veiling the disdain in his voice as he extended a hand and shook Gale's more than firmly. "Pleased to _meet_ you, Mr. Hawthorne. I will be more than welcome to allow you Miss Everdeen's presence, as long as she allows it."

I looked at Keanu and his striking features. Considering this stranger's good looks in combination of spiting Gale was a good idea, I put on a saccharine smile for Gale.

"Sorry, Gale…I'm a little busy with Keanu right here," I grinned. "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow and…"

"It's Prim," Gale interrupted. 'Prim needs you. She asked me to talk to you privately. And take you to her room."

"Well in that case, go check on your daughter, Miss Everdeen," Keanu offered politely, taking my hand and kissing my fingertips, lingering there to make it obvious to Gale that I was his. Gale just nodded smartly and looped his arm in mine, walking me at a fast clip to the elevator.

I dropped the sweet smile. "This better really be about my daughter, Hawthorne."

"Mhmm. It is. I promise," Gale told me as we went into the elevator, the gilt doors closing on Prim's party behind us. The second he pressed the down button, I turned on him.

"We're not going to _Prim's room_."

"Oh, you caught me," he grinned, raising his hands up, looking completely unfazed.

"You're a terrible liar, Gale."

"Come on, Catnip," he smirked, grey eyes gleaming. "You've got to learn to have a little _fun_ once in a while."

"Well excuse me for not wanting to have _fun_ after my _husband_ died."

Silence muffled the air as the elevator zoomed down, down, down. Gale looked away from me.

"You certainly did seem to have fun with that creep you were dancing with."

"He was not a creep!" I exclaimed, balling my fists. "He was being nice! Certainly a lot nicer than _you_ are! Keanu is a gentleman!"

"Oh, you're on a first-name basis with the creep," Gale mocked smoothly. "Well I don't think a _gentleman_ has his hands all over you on the first dance."

"Perhaps you're right," I snapped. "Peeta didn't have his hands all over me our first dance. Peeta was the _epitome_ of a gentleman. No one could come close to him, really."

Gale's eyes returned to me. "Thanks," he muttered sarcastically.

"Don't take it personally, Gale."

"How was I supposed to take it?"

"I don't know," I murmured quietly, looking away. His look of wounded pride hurt me, and I avoided meeting his gaze.

The ding of the elevator doors as they opened shocked me, and I jumped a little when they showed us our new floor. It was a long white hallway. I looked at Gale, confused.

"Come on, Catnip," he grinned, taking my arm.

We walked down the hallway until we came upon a metal door. Here Gale took out his helpful crystal ball – _Lady_, he called it – and whispered clandestinely to it. Humming him a tune of understanding, Lady opened the door and led us into a small white room with an identical metal door on the other side.

In this room sat two plastic chairs, and on either chair was a set of clothes. One set, obviously bigger than the other, was Gale's. I turned to him, puzzled but knowing exactly what to do.

"Put the clothes on," Gale explained. "We can't have much fun these horrid things, can we?"

I picked up my stack of clothes and held them to my chest, glaring at him. "Turn around," I commanded. "If you peek, I will slice your hand off."

"I'll change at the same time so we won't have to worry about…_peeking_," Gale reassured, picking up his own garments and turning to a corner. I found my own corner and dressed quickly – I had tan breeches, a linen undershirt and a dark-brown cotton vest – along with that I had a handsome brown leather jacket that fit nicely to my form.

But admiration of an outfit can only distract you so much from the fact that a very attractive – if dickish – Gale is undressing behind you.

I couldn't help myself. I turned around just in time to see his nicely-sculpted bare rear end as he struggled to pull on a pair of plain boxers and cargo pants. Blushing, I turned away. I had to admit the jerk had a nice butt.

"Ready?" Gale asked, spinning around. I nodded, and we went through the door into the next room.

It was completely dark.

I felt Gale's hand gently take my wrist. "Come over here, Katniss. Hey, don't push me. Just trust me."

I followed where he led, and in the blackness we stepped up onto an elevated step together. It felt circular in shape.

"Now stay close to me, alright?" Gale said, holding Lady up to his lips. There, he whispered one word:

"_Activate_."

Instantly the lights flickered on.

I realized exactly where I was. I had seen this room in nightmares, over and over.

It was the briefing room, the last glimpse of humanity before the 75th Hunger Games.

This was the room in which Cinna _died_.

Screaming, I tried to jump off the circular platform but the glass tube clamped down around us and we ascended into the arena. My breath came in short, audible bursts, and I beat the glass with my fists, wailing at the top of my lungs. The exact place where Cinna had died was right before my eyes, and his death displayed in my brain vividly, fleshed-out and real. I recalled with exact detail the brutal beating.

Splattering of brains.

Splash of bright red blood.

My mentor,

the kind and wise

designer,

fallen,

his dead hand

limp

at his side.

"_Get me out of here_!" I roared at Gale as I turned on him, tearing my nails into his flesh. He yelled in pain, and as he tried to hold me so I would not harm him or myself, I felt superhuman strength with this desperation. This tube was so claustrophobic I felt as if my fear alone would make it shatter.

Blue and red spots danced before my eyes as I watched Cinna die again and again. My lungs wore themselves out screaming and I shoved Gale away.

I hadn't even realized the tube had stopped and we were in the arena. I just stumbled off the circular step and landed on the ground, heaving with sobs and screams. My insides were jumbled, and suddenly I vomited, hot acidic liquid flowing from my throat.

Eventually I stopped and laid on the ground, supporting myself with one arm as I wept, my body exhausted. Gale tried to touch my shoulder, but I clambered aside as if I was burned by fire.

"Get _away_, you bastard!" I cried, staring at the ground, which was the only thing that came into focus right now. I felt sick and revolting.

Gale knelt in front of me, a safe distance of five feet between us. "Catnip…Catnip, I'm so sorry," he said, losing the sarcasm and mockery from before. "I didn't know…I thought you would be fine…"

"_Fine_?" I shrieked. "Fine if you brought me back into the arena that gives me nightmares every damn _night_? What the _hell_ is wrong with you?"

Angrily I swung at him with my nails, prepared to slice him open, but the fit had filled me with dizziness. I completely missed Gale and hit a rock with full force, ripping my fingers as I did so. "_Shit_!"

"Katniss! Stop! Please!" Gale implored, crawling next to me. "Just…please. Calm down. It's alright. Yes, that's it. It's _okay_, Katniss."

Staring at my bloody hand, I began to weep, hot, fat tears rolling down my cheeks. The world came back into focus. "Gale…why would you _do_ this to me?" I whimpered, looking up at him with watery grey eyes.

"I – I didn't know it would hurt you so much. Honestly, I didn't!" he explained desperately. "May I…may I touch you now, Katniss?"

After a long moment of hesitation, I nodded. Slowly my old friend leaned forward and cupped my pale, quivering cheek in his large, warm, steady hand. Gale reached up into my hair with his other hand and removed the green flower hairpin, presenting it to me kindly. I took it and softly pressed it to my breast.

Closing my eyes, I leaned into his hand, shivering, cherishing the wonderful feeling he gave me. I felt the coarseness of his palms and with just that touch I felt _home_.

"I'm having a hell of a lot of _fun_ this evening," I chuckled, smiling sadly. "As you can see."

"You still haven't seen where we are yet, Katniss," he whispered. "Just open your eyes. _Look_."

Slowly exhaling, I did as Gale told me and gazed around us. Tall trees rose high into the skies, oaks and ashes, beautiful trees. The delicious earthy smell of the mulch below out feet mixed with rotten leaves wafted through the air, and I heard the familiar trill of a mockingjay high up in the branches. Like a pat of golden butter, the moon shone high above, caught in the dark green foliage, hanging in the heavens amongst the millions of stars.

"Oh, _Gale_."

We were in the forest of District 12.

* * *

Hey everyone! Thanks for reading! I will post a new chapter soon!

Please give me some feedback on my story. It helps me improve and motivates me to write more. Thanks, lovelies!

~ R. Evanescent


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